The congregation that lost its house of worship to a fire this summer, will be back together once again in Morinville this Sunday.
The parishioners formerly of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, which burned down on June 16, have been attending Sunday service at Emmanuel Anglican Church in Gibbons and Holy Trinity Church in Bon Accord over the summer.
“There’s sadness that we’re not going to be going there anymore but we’re very happy to be back starting up in Morinville,” said Ron Horst, Rector of St. Andrew’s.
The Morinville United Church has taken in the displaced congregation. The Anglican services will start on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 9 a.m.
The decision to share space with another church in town was in part due to the long commute for parishioners to Gibbons and Bon Accord in the winter.
“They needed a footprint within Morinville and they didn’t have one,” said Alan Perry, Executive Archdeacon with the Anglican Diocese of Edmonton.
“We’re very grateful to the United Church for making the space available for them to be able to worship in a place in their own town.”
RCMP believe the fire that destroyed St. Andrew’s and virtually everything inside started in the area of the storage shed at the back of the church. The origins of the fire are considered suspicious.
The 26-year-old building has since been demolished and there are no plans to rebuild.
“We’re looking to see what we might do in the future. We see this as an intermediate step,” added Horst.
St. Andrew’s was also home to several ministry programs through The Father’s House, formerly the Morinville Christian Fellowship Church. The church is currently breaking ground at a new site located west of Morinville by Heritage Lake and is slated for completion in 2015.
Anglican services begin at Morinville United Church this Sunday, Nov. 24 at 9 a.m.
